Printing press



Aug. 8, 1937. c; CRAFTS 2,088,897

PRINTING PRESS Filed MarCh 25, 1935 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Aug. 3, 1937.

C. S. CRAFTS PRINTING PRESS Filed March 25, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 3,1937. c. s. CRAFTS PRINTING PRESS Filed March 25, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 \NV TO Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE PRINTING PRESS Curtis S. Crafts, Oak Park, Ill., assignor'to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application March 25, 1935, Serial No. 12,956

21 Claims.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in printing presses, and more especially to such improvements in the driving and other rotatable mechanism for various parts of the press, and especially the folding mechanism.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements;combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The, accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

w-Of the,drawings:-,

Fig. .1 is an elevation of a portion of the folding mechanism of a printing press embodying the i invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken detail view, with parts in section, ofa portion of the folder driving mechanism;

bled units which serve also as comprehensive assembled shipping units. The invention provides zpreassembled units comprising a shaft, its bearings, gearing, and usually housings and other parts, the preassembled unit being insertable into position and alinement in the press by simply bolting the bearing housings to the frame, and

being removable in like manner, the shaft being :a driving or a driven shaft, or one carrying a press element, such as a roller, a cylinder or other element. One main object of my invention is to abolish the troublesome, time-consuming and expensive repetition of the assembling and fine adjustments or tuning of the parts of the press which have heretofore been necessary. Under previous practice it has been necessary at the press manufactory and before shipment to completely assemble .a press and to accurately and ment, as the unit can be shipped without disascomprehensively adjust and tune the parts and to run the pressin order to ascertain whether it .can meet the z'specification requirements as to speed and quality of work. In the prior practice, :after the press has been brought up to specification requirements in these factory tests, it was totally disassembled, and the separate parts packed and shipped. At the newspaper plant the press was again lcompletelyreassembled and readjusted and retuned. "This work of press assembling .and

testing requires men of highly specialized skill and experience, and under the old practice not only was the expensive and time-consuming assembling and testingpduplicated at the newspaper plant but it had to be done by these same highly skilled and-experienced employees of the press manufacturer. These .men were sent to the newspaper plant and often spent weeks there simply duplicating the assembling and testing work which it had been necessary to do at the factory before the press could be shipped. The present invention notx-only abolishes this extensive and expensive reassembling and readjusting,

but permits the "fabrication at the newspaper plant of the preassembled units of the present in: vention :to be done .by ordinary mechanics, and at the sameztime the fine adjustments and tuning originally effected by: the experts at the press factory are preserved and rendered permanent, and are not changed .or affected by'the assembling at, the newspaper plant. The invention provides driving units wherein the shaft, bearings, gears, housings, oil seals and other parts may be assembled at the bench, and then this entire assembly as a unit may be alined and fastened into the press frame in the quick and simple manner indicated. According to one feature of the invention antifriction shaft bearings are provided equal or slightly greater in diameter than a gear fixed to the shaft, the press frame is apertured and the 40 bearing housings nest therein, the gears and the bearings, fixed in proper position on the shaft, passing through the apertures during assembling and disassembling. The units at the same time and in the manner indicated may be passed into driving connection with other gearing and :associated parts, all being alined and fastened in place simply by :bolting the bearings to the press frame as already described.

By my invention the assembling of the component parts of these units may be done easily, rapidly and accurately at the bench, and the assembly of the unit need not be disturbed again in setting up or taking down the press, or for shipsembling. Thus the work of setting up and taking down the press is greatly lessened, expedited and simplified, and the recurrent individual assembling, disassembling and alining of the various parts of the driving units are avoided. The invention provides as a driving instrumentality a preassembled unit quickly, easily and accurately insertable into and removable from the press, and also adapted for handling, or shipment as such unit. It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative and exemplary but are not restrictive of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown applied to the drive for the longitudinal folder of a rotary printing press. Fig. 1 shows the frame I in which are mounted slidable former frames la carrying formers 2 to which the perfected webs from the printing mechanisms of the press are guided in associated relation by rollers 3, the former being provided with pinching rolls 4 and drawings rolls 5. Rolls 4 are mounted on shaft 9, journaled in the press frame. A plurality of the shafts 9 are driven from shaft 29, and the present exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown applied to this mechanism.

The exemplified form of the driving unit is shown in Fig. 2 mounted in position in the frame,

and in Fig. 3 it is shown as being moved into or withdrawn from its position in the machine frame. In the embodied form of the mounting and drive of the shaft 29, it is driven from a bevel gear 2| fixed on a shaft 22, journaled in suitable bearings which are removably mounted on the machine frame. Meshing with bevel gear 2| is a bevel gear 23 fixed on the shaft 29, and on the shaft adjacent to the gear 23 is a thrust bearing 24 (Fig. 5) mounted in a suitable housing 21 having a flange 25 which is bolted to the machine frame by bolts 26. The thrust bearing 24 has its outer race fitting peripherally in the annular portion of the housing 21, the side of the race abutting on an inwardly extending annular flange of the housing 21. A cylindrical member 28 has a cylindrical part fitting within the interior of the housing 21 and its inner flat annular end abuts against the fiat side of the bearing race. Member 28 has an exterior flanged portion which is fastened by bolts 29 to the outer flat face of housing member 21. The entire bearing housing is mounted in frame I, as shown in Fig. 5, the aperture 32 and the housing being of sufficient diameter so that after the bearing housing is unbolted, and shaft 29 is moved to the right, bevel gear 23 will pass through the frame aperture 32, with the housing, of course, remaining in position on the shaft. Gear 23 is passed in the opposite direction through frame opening 32 during the assembling. The inner bearing race 33 of bearing 24 abuts on one of its flat sides against the hub of the bevel gear 23, and on the opposite fiat side against a ring 34 which abuts on a shoulder 35 formed on the shaft 29. The shaft 29 is journaled at its opposite end in a radial bearing 39, mounted in a housing 49,having a flange 4|, which is fastened to the press frame by bolts 42, the bearing housing 49 being slidable along the bearing 39.

In the" present embodiment, the assembling unit comprising shaft 20 is capacitated to pass into and out of operative relation with assembling units comprising shafts 9, by intermeshing of gears, as the unit of shaft 20 is put into the position in the press or is removed therefrom. As

shown, shaft 20 drives the drawing rollers 4 of the former through their shafts 9, the details of the drive being shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Fixed on each of the shafts 9 is a bevel gear 49 meshing with a bevel gear 59 splined on shaft 29. These gears are contained in individual housings 52, a portion 53 of the housings being removable for inspection of the gears. Housings 52 are a part of the assembled driving unit heretofore described, and each housing has a flange 54 which is fixed to the frame la. by bolts 55. The bevel gears 59 are journaled in ball bearings 59 mounted in the housings 52, and as embodied, the inner race is held between shoulders formed on the gears 59 and a holding ring 69 screw-threaded onto the hubs of the gears, while the outer race is held between shoulders formed on its housing member. Gears 59 are slidable on the keys 6| formed on the shaft 29, thereby permitting side adjustment of the former. Each gear and housing is thus slidable on its shaft While the gears maintain their rotational connection with the shaft and are maintained in mesh with their respective gears 49.

The former 2, drawing rollers 4 and nipping rollers 5, including their shafts, bearings and driving gears are mounted as a unit on a frame I 'a. which is slidably mounted with respect to the main frame I by means of the slideways lb and the former supporting bar 10, and may be moved widthwise of the web to accommodate different widths of webs.

The journal bearing for shaft 9 and its mounting in the frame are capacitated to permit the gear on shaft 9 to pass through the frame into and out of mesh with a gear on shaft 29, the bearing being bolted to the frame. As embodied, a ball bearing 69 is mounted in the inner end of a sleeve or housing 19, and is held between the gear hub on one side, and a shoulder on shaft 9 and a spacing sleeve H on the other side. Shaft 9 is also journaled in a thrust bearing 13 likewise mounted in the sleeve 19, the bearing being held on its inner side by the spacing sleeve ll, en-

'cfrcling shaft 9, and a flange 14 formed within the sleeve or housing 19. On its outer side the bearing 13 abuts on a shoulder on the shaft 9 and on the inner projection of collar 11, the collar having an exterior flanged portion which fits against the outer face of the exterior flange 18 of the sleeve or housing 19, and is fixed in position by bolts 19. The cylindrical sleeve or housing 19 fits within the cylindrical part 89 of the former bracket frame I112, and the exterior flange 18 thereof fits both within the cylinder 89 and against its outer fiat face, and is fastened in po sition by bolts 8|. The cylinder 89 and the sleeve or housing 19 are of sufficient size that shaft 9 may be withdrawn from the part 89, and the aperture is sufiiciently large to pass the bevel gear 49.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 there is also shown a reversible drive off of shaft 29, driving, for instance, the cross associate drive or compensator. As embodied, a pair of bevel gears 89 and 99 are mounted on shaft 29 by keys 9| and 92, respectively, the two gears being slidable along the shaft into and out of mesh alternatively with a bevel gear 95, mounted on a shaft 96, which is journaled in the frame Ia. Shaft 96 is shown with a ball bearing 91 at its inner end mounted in the frame member 98. Each of the bevel gears 89 and 99 is mounted on a ball bearing I99, with the inner race abutting on a shoulder on the gear huband on the other side abutting on a screw iring I01 threaded onto thegear hub; 'Thegouter race of the bearing H ismountedperipherally in the housingbut is longitudinallyslidable between shoulders I02 and: 1'93 formed onvthe housing so that" these gearsmay be: movedainto and out of mesh with the gear 95. Clampingscrews lilllserve to hold the: gears: in either positions. The housing T95 is split, and the part I298 issremovablev to. give access to the. gears 89 and 9.0 to reverse therdrive in the manner described. The entire. housing M15, as a part of the driving unit, is. attachable tocand removable from the frame |.-a=,. and as shown the inwardly extendingfianges I109; fit over folding mechanism rollers, their shafts and bearings; the unitbeing capacitated tobe inserted end- 'Wise in seats. in the machine frame, and to bere- 'moved in the same manner, the entire unit being alined and fastened in position by bolting the bearing housings to the. frame. As exemplarily embodied (Fig. 1), a drawing rollerismou-nted won its shaft 9, and its bearing and gear connections to the driving shaft 20 will be as shown in Fig. 4. At the other end of the shaft-9:, a hearing housing H3 mounted in a cylindrical seat l I 2 formed in the machine frame. The bearing I l3a. may be an anti-friction bearing which is held on the shaft end by means of a cap screw and plate. To permit the insertion and Withdrawal of the unit, the housing I I3 and the cylindrical bearing H2 of the frame will be of sufficiently larger diameter than the gear 9a at the outer end of the shaft 9 so that after removal of the housing H3, gear 9a may pass: into seat H2 as gear 49 passes through seat 80, and then by moving the inner end of the shaft 9 until it is clear of the frame la, the shaft and roller assembly may be removed from the frame.

In practice, the shaft 29, with gear 23, bearing 24, both housings 52 and their included gears,

and the housing I05 and its included gears, the

housing 49 having been movedslightly to the left (or right) on bearing 39, and'the bevel gears '89 and 99 being moved out of mesh with gear 95.

' The shaft 29 may then be swung into positionand alinement in the frame of the press. Bearing housing 21 is then secured to the frame by bolts 26 and bearing housing 49 is secured in place by bolts 42, and the entire unit is alined and connected. The housings 52 are then positioned to mesh the gears with the corresponding gears 49, and the housings are fastened in position by their bolts 55. The desired bevel gear 89 or 90 is put in mesh with the gear 95, in the manner previously described, and housing I05 is likewise bolted to the frame Ia. In disassembling the mechanism the procedure will be just .the reverse,

sembled beforehand and then positioned, interconnected and bolted onto the frame.

In assembling, sleeve i0 is. slid into the cylindrical portion, 80 of the. frame, the inner flange and flange vention and a.'lzfl-servingt to alinegt'hefi blearingaxially and to position itilongitudinally, and the bolts 81 are then screwed home, after which, housing I; 13 is screwed home;

The sleeve (O is of sufiicientdiameter that the gear 49 passes readily through the, opening 9.0. In: assembling. with the folding roller: drive unit; of the. construction shown in Fig. 6, the shaft. Zllmay be placed and fastened into position in the frame, and the. shaft 9 may then he slid in endwise to bring gears 49 into mesh with gears 50, and this canbedonewithout sliding the gears 59 their housings on the shaftifl, and the housings; 52' may be: bolted to the frame prior to slid ingzin the shafts: 9r.

The invention in its. broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms. shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the in- Without sacrificing its chief advantages. I .3 i

What I claim is:

13111 a printing press folder, in combination, driven devices operating on the paper, a preassemhled driving unit comprising a shaft, a gear fined'thereon, .a thrust bearing, a radial bearing and a slidabl'e radial bearing housing mounted on the shaft, the unit being movable transversely into position within the machine frame, and means. for fastening the .bearinghousings to the press frame to aline and hold said unit in positionto drive said devices.

.2". In a printing press'fol'der, in combination, devices operating on the paper, a -preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed on the end ofxsaid shaft, a thrust bearing on said shaft adjacent said gear, a radial bearing and a slidable radial-bearing housing mounted at the other end of the shaft, the unit being movable transversely intov position within the machine frame, and

means for fastening the bearing housings to the pressframe to aline and hold saidunit in'position to drive. said devices.

31111 a printing press folder, in combination,

devices operating on the paper, a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a bevel gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a thrust bearing on said shaft adjacent said bevel gear, a radial bearing anda slidable radial bearing housing mounted at the other end of the shaft, the unit being movable transversely into position within the machine frame, and meansfor fastening the beari ng housings to the press frame to aline and hold said unit in position to drive said devices. 1 4. In a printing press folder, in combination, a folding roller, a preassembled driving unit comprising a shaft, a driving gear fixed thereon, a

thrust bearing adjacent said driving gear, a radial bearing and slidablehousing at the other end of the shaft, the unit being movable trans versely into position'w'ithin the machine frame, means for fastening the bearing housings to the press frame to aline and hold the'unit in driving relation and a bevel gear splined medianly on said shaft, so as to pass into mesh with another gearwhen the unit is positioned in the frame.

5. In a printing press foldenin combination, driven devices operating on the paper, an apertured machine frame, a p-reassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a bearing mounted on said shaft adjacent to said gear, a radial. bearing and slidable housing mounted at the other end of the shaft, the aperture in theframe being of suflicient diameter to pass the gear and for the housing of the first-mentioned bearing to nest therein, and means for fastening the bearing housings to the press frame to aline and hold the unit in driving relation.

6. In a printing press folder, in combination, driven devices operating on the paper, an apertured machine frame, a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a bevel gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a thrust bearing mounted on said shaft adjacent to said gear, a radial bearing and slidable housing mounted at the other end of the shaft, the aperture in the frame being of suflicient diameter to pass the gear and for the housing of the first-mentioned bearing to nest therein, and means for fastening the bearing housings to the press frame to aline and hold the unit in driving relation.

7. In a printing press folder, in combination, driven devicesoperating on the paper, an apertured machine frame, a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a bearing mounted on said shaft adjacent to said gear, the aperture in the frame being of sufficient diameter to pass the gear and for the housing of the bearing to nest therein, and means for fastening the gear housing to the press frame to aline and hold the unit in driving position.

8. In a printing press folder, in combination, driven devices operating onthe paper, an apertured machine frame, a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a thrust bearing mounted on said shaft adjacent to said gear, the aperture in the frame being of sufficient diameter to pass the gear and for the housing of the bearing to nest therein, and means for fastening the bearing housing to the press frame to aline and hold the 'unit in driving position.

9. In a printing press folder, in combination, a bodily movable folding roller having a gear at one end, a shaft, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft and a gear and a housing therefor slidably mounted on the shaft to permit the last gear to remain in meshing relation with the folding roller gear when the roller is bodily moved.

10.In a printing press folder, in combination, a bodily movable folding roller having a gear at one end, a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft, a thrust bearing mounted on said shaft adjacent to said, gear, a slidable bearing housing and bearing mounted on the other end of the shaft, means for fastening the bearing housings to the press frame to aline and hold the unit, and a gear and a housing therefor slidably mounted on the shaft to permit the last gear to remain in meshing relation with the folding roller gear when the roller is bodily moved.

11. In a printing press folder, in combination, horizontally movable driven devices operating on the paper, driving means therefor comprising a plurality of inter-meshing assembly units, one of said assembly units comprising a shaft having a gear on the end of said shaft, the other of said units being a preassembled unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed thereon, and a gear splined on the shaft of said preassembled unit so as to be moved while remaining in mesh with the gear on said second shaft during horizontal movement of the devices.

12. In a printing press folder a folding roller, driving means therefor including cross drive mechanism comprising a driving shaft and a gear fixed thereto, a connecting shaft with a 'housingslidably mountedthereon, a gear splined on said driving. shaft and in fixed axial relation .to its housing, the housing and gear being slidabletogether along their shaft.

13. In a printing press folder, in combination, a frame apertured to take a shaft bearing, driven folding devices, a preassembled driving unit comprising a shaft, a gear fixed thereon, bearings mounted on said shaft, both of said bearings being provided with housings adapted to seat in an aperture in said frame, one of said housings being removable from its shaft, one bearing and gear being of sufficient size to pass through the corresponding aperture while the other aperture is of sufficient size to permit angular and axial movement of the roller shaft for removal.

14. In a printing press folder, the combination of a driving shaft, a gear slidably splined to said shaft;'a housing enclosing said gear and having an extension enclosing a part of the shaft and one end of the spline, a bearing for said gear supported by the housing and held against axial movement with respect thereto, and an oil sealing ring at the end of said extension and beyond said spline.

15. In a printing press'folder, a shaft having a thrust bearing and bearing housing at one end, a radial bearing and housing at its other end, said radial bearing housing being axially movable on the shaft, a press frame having an aperture. to receive the thrust bearing and housing, a second frame at the other shaft end and means for securing said housings to their respective frames.

16. In a printing press folder, a shaft having a thrust bearing and housing at one end, a radial bearing and housing at its other end, said radial bearing and housing being relatively axially movable, press frames at said shaft ends, one frame being apertured to receive the thrust bearing housing and the other frame having means for securing the radial bearing housing whereby the shaft may be moved endwise and then angularly to remove it from the frames.

17. A preassembled power transmitting unit comprising a shaft, a thrust bearing in fixed position upon said shaft and a housing therefor in fixed position upon the shaft, a radial bearing and a housing therefor slidable upon the shaft and a gear in fixed position upon said shaft, and. means for fastening the housings in predetermined position to a machine frame to thereby bring the assembled parts into predetermined alined relation in the machine.

- 18. In a printing press folder, in combination, two side frames spaced apart a predetermined distance, a device for operating on the paper mounted in said frame, a preassembled driving unit therefor comprising a shaft, a gear fixed thereon, a thrust bearing, a housing therefor, a

radial bearing and a housing therefor slidably mounted on the shaft, said preassembled unit being movable transversely into position within said side frames, and means for fastening the bearing housings to the side frames to aline and hold said preassembled unit in position to drive said device.

19. In a printing press folder, in combination, two side frames spaced apart a predetermined distancaone of said side frames being apertured, a device for operating on the paper mounted in said frame, a preassembled driving unit therefor comprising a shaft, a gear mounted on the end of said shaft, but of less diameter, a thrust bearing, a housing therefor, a radial bearing and a housing therefor slidably mounted on the shaft,

said preassembled unit being movable transversely into position within said side frames, said gear passing through the frame aperture, and means for fastening the bearing housings to the side frames to aline and hold said preassembled unit in position to drive the device.

20. In a printing press folder, in combination, two side frames spaced apart a predetermined distance, one of said side frames being apertured, a driving shaft on the exterior of said apertured frame, a gear on said shaft at said aperture, a cross shaft mountable within said side frames and a gear on the end of the cross shaft of less diameter than said frame aperture and adapted to mesh with the first-mentioned gear, and bearings for said cross shaft, one of said bearings being slidable on the shaft to permit the shaft to be inserted and withdrawn transversely between the side frames.

21. In a printing press folder, in combination, two side frames spaced apart a predetermined distance, one of said side frames being apertured, a cross shaft mountable within said side frames and extending through said aperture, a gear fixed on the end of said shaft of less diameter than said aperture, a thrust bearing and housing in fixed position on said shaft adjacent said gear, a radial bearing and housing slidable on the other end of said shaft, and means for fastening said housings to the side frames.

CURTIS S. CRAFTS. 

